It has previously been proposed that hydrogen gas produced by electrolysis can be injected into or mixed with a hydrocarbon fuel-air mixture to increase combustion efficiency and reduce hydrocarbon fuel usage, particularly in internal combustion engines for vehicles. Proposals that seek to avoid the use of external hydrogen supply or onboard hydrogen storage have generally called for the use of electrolysis cells to generate hydrogen gas or hydrogen-oxygen electrolytic mixture onsite or onboard a vehicle and inject the gas output into a hydrocarbon fuel-air mixing chamber or carburetor for induction into an internal combustion engine. One such proposal is described by A. Dulger and K. R. Ozcelik, in “Fuel Economy Improvement By On Board Electrolytic Hydrogen Production”, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol 25, Pg 895-897, Pergamon Press, 2000.
Other proposals include U.S. Pat. No. 5,105,773 to Cunningham et al, issued Apr. 21, 1992, which disclosed use of hydrogen-based electrolyte fluid such as potassium hydroxide. A flash arrestor is used to ensure that no backfire impacts the system, and the level of electrolyte fluid is optically monitored through the use of a liquid level sensor.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,600 to Teves, issued May 7, 1996, disclosed using hydrogen gas generated from two or more electrolytic cells energized by high density direct current of as much as 5,000 amperes supplied by an onboard direct current generator. The induction of hydrogen gas into the carburetor is regulated by a foot pedal-controlled butterfly valve in the engine's air intake manifold. The hydrogen gas is claimed to displace up to as much as 80% of the hydrocarbon fuel used in an internal combustion engine after a steady state condition is achieved.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,021,249 of Christison, issued Apr. 4, 2006, disclosed hydrogen generation from a saltwater electrolyte solution through electrolysis for enriching a hydrocarbon-based fuel for an internal combustion engine. The saltwater solution provides better conductivity for electrolytic dissociation of hydrogen and oxygen. The dissociated oxygen is diverted and exhausted to the atmosphere, while the hydrogen gas is ported to the carburetor of the engine through a mixing tube venturi for delivery of the resulting hydrogen-enriched mixture to the engine combustion chamber.
U.S. Published Patent Application 2007/0012264 of Holt et al, published Jan. 18, 2007, disclosed use of an electrolytic fluid of water and sodium bicarbonate for generating hydrogen-oxygen gas. The electrolytic cells have a stack of closely-spaced, alternating cathode and anode plates immersed in the electrolyte solution, and energized by a high density direct current of as much as 5,500 amperes supplied by a generator or alternator. A current regulator is controlled by a computer attached to the gas foot pedal or the main automobile computer, or a potentiometer may be used. The induction of electrolyzed hydrogen-oxygen gas into the carburetor is regulated by a foot pedal-controlled butterfly valve in the engine's air intake manifold. The electrolyte solution temperature is controlled by an air-conditioning line, water-cooling line, or thermostat. An anti-backfire device is provided in the hydrogen-oxygen supply hose connected to the intake plate that delivers hydrocarbon fuel into the airflow passageway.
U.S. Published Patent Application 2009/0148734 of Wang et al, published Jun. 11, 2009, disclosed use of an electrolyzer cell to generate hydrogen and oxygen gas that is stored in an onboard gas container. A pressure regulator controls the feed of hydrogen and oxygen gas mixture from the storage container to the carburetor for the engine.
U.S. Published Patent Application 2010/0038236 of Rivera et al, published Feb. 18, 2010, disclosed use of a pair of electrolyzer cells to dissociate hydrogen and oxygen gas delivered to the vehicle's air intake system, at the intake manifold and at the main air intake duct leading to the intake manifold. The electrolyzer cells supply the hydrogen/oxygen gas mixture “on demand” in the respective injection paths depending on operating conditions. When the engine is idling, there is a high level of vacuum in the intake manifold, drawing gaseous fuel from one electrolyzer cell. When the engine is accelerated to higher RPM, a higher vacuum draws gas mixture from the other electrolyzer cell. A check-valve disconnect coupling in each gas delivery hose serves as a flash-back arrester. The electrolyte fluid is water and sodium bicarbonate. The electrode structure is made from strands of stainless steel wire twisted together in a rope/cable-like form, then formed into a helix.
The prior art proposals have had significant disadvantages in terms of high current densities required for onboard electrolytic dissociation of sufficient hydrogen or hydrogen-oxygen gas for enrichment of hydrocarbon fuel combustion, electrolytic cells employing corrosive or contaminant-containing minerals for boosting conductivity or gas dissociation of the electrolytic solution, and complex mechanisms for diverting oxygen gas, storing hydrogen gas, and/or regulating the supply of hydrogen-oxygen gas mixture to the hydrocarbon fuel-air mixing chamber. It would be highly desirable to provide an electrolytic cell that can operate on only water as an electrolyte fluid to generate sufficient hydrogen gas for enrichment of hydrocarbon fuel, while eliminating corrosive or contaminant-containing minerals that can degrade the performance or service life of the electrolytic cell. It would be further desirable to provide a simple mechanism that can maintain the generated hydrogen gas in a stable condition from recombining with oxygen in the output gas flow, in order to avoid complex mechanisms for separating hydrogen from oxygen gas, storing the hydrogen gas, cooling the gas mixture, and/or otherwise regulating the gas flow.